PS 3537 

.115 R8 

1906 



-- — —im 



rUiustlinq Wm 



SIBLEY 




Class PS^^^l- 

Book :_^i5Rs_ 



\^o<h 



Copyright N^__. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



RUSTLING WINGS 



A COLLECTION OF POEMS 



By 

O. H. SIBLEY 



Meadvillb, Pa. 

McCoY «S: Calvin. 

1906. 



LIBRARY ofCONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 
JAN 7 1907 

^ Capyrigrht Entry 

CLA3S A XXc, No 
COPY B. 



l9oC 



Copyright. 1906. by Ottis Howard Slbley. 






TO THE 

MEMBERS OF THE VARIOUS CHURCHES 

WHERE I HAVE SERVED AS PASTOR 

WHO BY THEIR LOVE AND 

LOYALTY 

HAVE HELPED ME TO ACHIEVE SOME MEASURE OF SUCCESS 

AND WHOSE LIVES AND EXPERIENCES 

HAVE FURNISHED 

INSPIRATION FOR SOME OF THESE POEMS 

THIS BOOK 

IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY 

THE AUTHOR. 



IRuötltng Mtuös» 

Could I but paint the bright picture 

That floats before my eyes, 
I would paint a heavenly picture 

The angels in heaven might prize. 

And could I but sing the glad song 

That is ringing in my heart, 
I would sing a song that would ring along 

Till the echoes of time should depart. 

Or could I but tune my earthly harp 
To the music o'f heaven I hear, 

My harp would thrill o'er valley and hill 
To every human ear. 

But the beauty and music and song 

Are mingling in my soul, 
And when I attempt to conceive them apart 

Into mist and to whispers they roll. 

And angels, bright angels, tread soft 
And ever keep close by my side; 
Their wings rustle silken and soft 
Like the soft silken robes of a bride. 

But when I attempt to behold them apart, 
Or to converse with one alone, 

My spirit can feel them, one by one, steal 
Away, and soon all have flown. 



Ibeaven's Sweetest Spmpbon^» 

It falls in dulcet symphonies 
Aslant the worlds in notes sublime; 

Its echöes roll in harmony 
On the far-resounding shores of time. 

And Seraphs list and Cherubs halt, 
And all the harps are sudden stilled; 

And saints are silent with delight, 
All heaven's host with joy is thrilled. 

For God is calling His angels in, 
And their answers ring in tones of love; 

Toward heaven's gate they are hastening, 
Perfect obedience to prove. 

And rustling wings and falling feet, 
As they cleave the bright translucent air 

Or hasten onward toward the throne, 
Adown the golden corridor, 

Give forth no sound, nor echoes wake 
To mar the perfect harmony, 

Like lakes of liquid light it rolls; 
Sweetest of heaven's symphonies. 



I dreamed I held a living bird, 

So beautiful, so sweet; 
Its notes the gladdest ever heard; 

My breast was its retreat. 

It stretched its wings to> meet the morn; 

It fluttered from my ha;nd, 
On gentle zephyrs upward borne; 

I could not understand 

Why it should thus forsake its nest 

To mo'unt into the sky, 
For dark the clouds rose in the west; 

And swift went roUing by 

Strange fleecy clouds of golden hue; 

Supernal brightness spread; 
But with a carol sweet it flew, 

Through golden clouds it sped. 

And then I saw more of its kind 
Like dark Specks in the sky, 

And knew it saw them first, and pined 
On wings of love to fly. 



And knew it heard them call, and sprang 

To meet them there above; 
To answer them was why it sang. 

So sweet its song of love. 

Then golden clouds gave place to black; 

The sky was quick o'ercast; 
I longed to have my nestling back; 

I saw a form at last 

Come sailing to me through the air; 

Come fluttering from the sky; 
Come sailing from the cloud called Where, 

On the brooding breeze called Why; 

Come falling to me from the clouds, 
On the brooding breeze upborn; 

From out the gloomy cloud called Shrouds, 
It feil to the land of Mourn. 

And I picked it up, 'twas not my bird 

And yet its form it bore; 
But still above the clouds I heard, 

Far sweeter than of yore, 



My living bird; its joyous notes 

Attuned forever more 
To the dulcet sounds from myriad throats 

On an amaranthine shore. 

And I buried its form deep out öf sight 
In a land called Memory Dear, 

And turned away tö the shore so bright 
My Hving bird's song to hear. 



Ibosannab, 

I heard the tread of million feet; 

I saw the City lie, 
Basking in the glorious light 

Of yon fair Eastern sky. 

Ado»wn the ancient aisles of Time 

I heard the tread of feet, 
And myriad voices sweetly sang 

An anthem wondrous sweet. 

"Hosanna to the King!" they sang; 

"To Hirn who comes, all praise! 
To Prophet, Priest, and Crowned King, 

Our loud hosannas raise." 

Then shifting scenes and dying worlds, 
And Time's swift onward flight; 

And New Jerusalem I saw 

Bathed in heaven's own light. 

And tongue of man can never teil 

The sweetness of that song; 
As,mingled with angelic harps, 

It rolls through centuries long. 

10 



'All might and majesty and praise, 
His marvelous name, all hail !" 

Mankind redeemed, and angels join 
The song that ne'er shall fail. 

'Hosanna to the King!" they sing; 

''To Hirn who reigns, all praise ! 
To Prophet, Priest and Crowned King 
Our loud hosannas raise." 



11 



©n tbe Deatb ot a Cbilö, 

(Suggfested by a Sermon by Dr. L. A. Banks.) 

Into my home there came gliding, 
A Specter as dark as the night; 
Withoiit, it was robed in somber hue; 
Within, it was silken and white; 
Without, was draped 
In mournings' crape; 
Within, was soft silken and white. 

Love barred the door, while deep anguish 

Wrung from the depths of my heart, 
A barrier built up against it, 
And bade it forever depart; 
My heart beat wild; 
''Oh, spare my child! 
From my home forever depart." 

But it glided into a darkened room, 

It glided the barrier through; 
Lo^e Said, "It is only a troubled dream;" 
But Anguish said, "It is true." 
It bears the weight 
Of a precious freight; 
My bleeding heart said, "It is true." 

12 



So, nestled low in its silken folds, 

Her hands folded over her breast; 
My darling lay, my joy and pride, 
A dove in its downy nest; 
My pure white dove, 
My life, my love. 
Sank low in her downy white nest. 

And the black lid, suUen and somber, 

Closed o'er my darling for aye; 
And the Specter glided forth again 
To hide in the dark earth away; 
Oh, tolling Bell! 
Ring forth her knell, 
And hide her sweet form away. 

Yearning and longing and grieving, 
I asked, ''Shall I see her no more? 
Oh, cruel Death! Oh, gruesome Grave! 
Shall I see my darling no more?" 
And the silent wall 
My heart enthralled. 
And echoed, "No more, no more." 



13 



Low sank my heart in that damp, dark grave, 

Sank low, tili in darkness entombed; 
All light and hope of earth shut out; 
My soul enshrouded in gloom : 
No hope, no light, 
All dark as night; 
Dark mystery 'shrouded in gloom; 

My heart let go of earthly hope, 

Thick clouds enveloped my soul, 
They bore me down an abyss deep, 
To the depths of darkness they rolled; 
With a tempest's roar 
They downward bore, 
In the depths of deep darkness they rolled. 

Then a sweet voice strong and tender, 

Spake low in that abyss of woe; 
Saying, **I am your Friend and Brother, 
Your grief and your sorrow I know; 
My Word I give, 
Thy dead shall live; 
A balm for your heartache I know." 

14 



Ah, hide her sweet form, you dark Specter, 

And Claim it forever your own; 
She plucks the flowers of Life and Joy 
Before God's radiant throne; 
She Hes at rest 
On Jesus' breast, 
Before God's great golden throne; 

And on that great day when the trumpet 

Shall sound, and from earth and from sea 
The dead shall arise all immortal, 
Again her sweet form I shall see; 
Ah, Specter so black, 
You shall give her back, 
And her sweet form again I shall see. 



15 



Übe %ovc XKUrouöbt Gross Bternal. 

As move the planets without noise, the wheels of 
time rushed furiously; 
And then my soul in ecstacy 

Was caught up to the skies; 
And new conditions then I saw, 
And new creations 'rise; 
Greater birth illuminating the obscurely hinted of 

the old, 
And unfolding of original truths as yet untold. 



RoUing clouds of snowy whiteness; great white 
thrones transparent golden; 
Flashing lights, fore'er witholden 

From mortal ken and mortal eye; 
The grandeur of Omnipotence, 
- As lightnings flash the sky; 
Onyx pillars thrones supporting; wheels of gems of 

flashing lights; — 
God's decrees of might swift flying; universal right. 



16 



Enthroned in spotless purity, angels and archangels 
attending, 
Cherubim before Hirn bending, 

The Lamb of God in majesty; 
Dim shadowed in the distant past, 
The love wrought cross of Calvary. 
Grand the universal anthem echoing from world to 

World ; 
All enemies are put beneath Hirn, lift up — ye Gates 
of Pearl! 



17 



trbe /IDountain ot iprai^er. 

Night crowned the brow of Olivet, 
And spread her mantle o'er the earth; 
The moon her silent vigil kept, 
The sons of men in safety slept, 
While the Son of God in agony wept, 
And poured His supphcations forth. 

The hours passed on, His human soul 
On wings of prayer ascended high; 
The bürden of that prayer — the goal, 
That He might once again behold 
The glories that He had of old 
Before He came to earth to die. 

Hushed were the voices of the night, 
In sacred awe the winds were still. 

Beneath the clouds the moonbeams light 
Were hid, lest they to mortal sight 
Revealed the radiant beings bright, 
God's messengers of peace, good will. 



18 



Could we behold and understand, 
Could we but draw the curtain back, 
As heart to heart and band in band, 
Brigbt beings öf the heavenly land 
- Support Hirn and around Hirn stand, 
DeHvering Hirn from sorrow's wrack; 

We'd have our Mount of Olivet, 
Our hours to retire and pray; 

And many tears that now are wept. 
And many burdens that are kept 
Woiild pass away, and angels steps 
Would keep beside us all the way. 



19 



Übe Sptrit ot propbec^. 

Deep darkness draped the Prophets' age, 
Dark shadows shaded all the earth; 

Nor magic's might nor mind of sage 
Could to one ray of light give birth. 

In darkness deep the prophet's soul 
Seemed wandering midst a miry maze; 

As clouds and darkness 'round him roll 
Unbroken darkness meets his gaze. 

Great mountains rear their rugged peaks 
On every side as 'round he peers, 

And in the very darkness seeks 
To read the lessons of the years. 

Behind him, reared to awful height, 
The Mount of Disobedience stan3s; 

Dark Ignorance upon the right, 
Idolatry of other lands 

Shuts off his vision on the left; 

'Majestic Law looms up before; 
Of every ray of light bereft 

Upon his soul the darkness bore. 

20 



Then stealing soft like holy calm, 
A Presence filled his burning heart, 

Divine and radiant, a sweet balm 
Of healing bade his fears depart. 

Then up It bore him to the height; 

Eternal Justice 'neath his feet; 
'All things wrong shall be made right, 

Jehovah's plan shall be complete," 

The angels whispered in his ears; 

Then unseen hands the curtain drew, 
The vista then, of future years, 

Broke in lipon his wondering view. 

Then clashed the wheels of time, and sped 

The panorama of His plan, 
And Nations rose and Empires fled; 

As mian made murderous war ön man. 

Now a glad chorus greets his ears; 
A band of angels greets his eyes; 
''Good will to Man!" Eternal years 
Proclaim the Eternal Sacrifice. 



21 



"Sweet peace on earth;" It echoes down 
The dim and distant aisles of Time 
And echo answers earth around 
In every land and every clime; 

"Now unto US a Child is born; 
Unto US a Son is given." 
It rides upon the wings of morn, 
It echoes back from earth to heaven. 

"His name shall be The Counselor, 

The mighty God, the Prince of Peace, 
The Wonderful, The Conqueror, 

Whose kingdom shall fore'er increase." 



22 



Majestic God, my soul would rise 
Tö meet Thy pageant in the skies; 
To join the great unnumbered throng; 
To join the glad eternal song; 
The gloom of night to 'change for day 
That knows no night nor fades away. 

My soul would fain exchange this life 
Of bitter tears and useless strife; 
Of loneliness and sad despair; 
Of disappointed hopes, and fear; 
For that blest life, supremely blest, 
Of one unbroken heavenly rest. 

Like bird on pinion swift to fly, 
My weary soul would pierce the sky; 
Help me in patience to abide 
And ever be Thou near my side, 
May I fulfill my work of love; 
Then angels bear me safe above. 

23 



Hlleöbenp,* 

Blow, Breezes blow, 
The willows gently wave; 

Flow, River flow, 
The landscape sweetly lave; 
But never a breeze can stir, 

Nor flowing river awake 
Life in a heart where hope is dead, 
Nor joy ere the heartstrings break. 

Gloat, Wavelets gloat, 
In Hghts that constant roll; 

Float, Cloudlets float, 
Mirror'd, the azure pole; 
But never the swelling tide, 

And never the mystic mist 
Of perfect peace shall mirror the heart 
Till it wakes in heaven's bliss. 

Roll, Wheels of Time! 
Speed on, O Car of God! 

Pass, World sublime, 
The path dead planets trod. 



* "Allesrheny" means "The Endless"; as applied by the aboriginals to the 
river, it becomes "The Endless River." 

24 



Lo! It Sounds from sea to sea 
And echoes from shore to shore 

And Star to star 'cross the abyss deep 
Shout, "Time shall be no more." 



Blow, Breezes blow, 
Breezes from angel wings; 

Flow, River flow, 
The court of the King of Kings 
Mirrors yonr placid breast. 

And the glorious golden light 
From heaven's dome, like liquid gold, 
In seas supernal bright. 



25 



Übe Superannuate» 

The day has been dark and dreary, 

The night is bitter and cold; 
The way has been long and weary; 

But I have safe guarded the fold. 

My thought through the realms of glory 
Has sped with the swiftness of Hght; 

I have told the old gospel story, 
To teil it has been my delight. 

I have sounded a clear note of warning, 
As echoing back from the tomb, 

To those who in life's rosy morning 
Set their feet in the path of the doomed. 

I have gone to the home of affliction, 
And heard the sad story of care; 

I have spoken by God's holy diction 
And lifted the clouds of despair. 

I know many hearts have beat faster; 

I know many tears have been shed; 
And on the great heart of the Master, 

I know some have pillowed their heads. 

26 



I have spent all my strength in the giving 
Of sympathy, warning and love; 

My message has been to the living, 
His love and compassion to prove. 

And now my soul it is waking 

Though others have long been at rest, 

And the universe seems to be quaking 
With emotions at war in my breast; 

My heart is hungry and lonely; 

Longing for warm human love; 
For a touch of kind sympathy only; 

A band to point me up above. 

Alone^ — Alone — Alone — 

And my heart will sometimes rebel, 
And my spirit unwittingly moan 

As I face the dark forces of hell. 

Alone, I must thread life's dark passage; 

Alone, I must meet every foe; 
Alone, I must carry the message; 

Alone, disappO'initments must know. 

27 



Something I feel of the sorrow 

That Jesus feit long, long ago, 
When His human soul shrank from the 
morrow, 

And the sin-cursed cup of His woe. 

Something I know of His feeling 
When those He loved most had fled, 

With the shadow of death o'er Him stealing; 
In pain His great human heart bled. 

But ril fear not the garden's dark shadow, 
Though I may not stifle my moan; 

For, when in His footsteps I follow, 
I know I am never alone. 

For 'round me a halo of glory 

Is shining as bright as the day. 
And angels are whispering the story 

Of love that supporteth for aye. 



28 



Over life's dark rugged way, 

Father, lead me; 
I entrust my life to Thee, 

Do Thou heed me; 
In the morning, noon, or night, 
In repose or in the fight, 

Be Thou near me; 
When the shadows gather 'round; 
When with grief my soul's cast down; 
When I stand on shppery ground; 

Father hear me. 

Of Thy loving tenderness 

I'm persuaded; 
Oft in dire and deep distress 

Thou hast aided; 
Help me now to trust Thee still, 
Be Thine own, my only will ; 

They will be mine. 
In the night, be Thou my song; 
Make that right Thou seest wrong; 
All my joys to Thee belong; 

All mine are Thine. 

29 



Ube ^ale ot a (Buarötan UwqcI 

A great and overhanging rock, 

A forest tree upon its brow, 
Whose gnarled and stunted form has stood 

A hiindred years the same as now. 

A barren field where stunted oaks 

And whispering pines give forth a sound 

As though the ghosts of other years 
In sad regret, were whispering 'round. 

Not far away a farmhouse old, 
Before whose door a mossy stone 

Seems echoing yet the tread of feet, 
Long years ago forever flown. 

One eve I stood within the shade 
Of that old rock when all was still, 

And some sweet presence seemed to steal 
Athwart my soul, my heart to fill; 

Then rustling pine and quivering oak 
And singing bird and rippling rill 

Seemed suddenly to cease their sounds, 
And all the world grew sudden still. 



30 



Then forth from rock or tree or rill, 
I scarce could teil from whence it came, 

A voice so hushed, subdued and low, 
Whispered a once familiär name; 

A soft dissyllable it was, 

Whispered, I thought, as angels speak; 
It set the warm blood coursing through 

My veins and mounting to my cheek. 

'O speak, thou angel Voice," I said, 

'Thou surely hast a tale to teil. 
And be it joyous one or sad, 

ril try to hear and heed it well." 

Then spake the voice : 'Thou art the first, 
Of all who've paused within this dell, 

Who has heard my voice and bidden me 
To mortal ears my story teil; 

So see thou write it word for word, 
Nor aught omit I teil to thee; 

Then send it forth to teach the world 
How God, in clouds and mystery, 

31 



Is weaving life to life to make 

The woof of human destiny; 
And Hght miist mingled be with shade, 

And somber hue with brightness be. 

Upon this rock, and 'round this tree, 
Füll eighty years ago there played, 

Through may gladsome summer days, 
A Httle winsome happy maid; 

I hovered near her through bright hours, 
And watched the unfolding of her mind; 

Nor suffered any spirit ill 

To come anear with thought unkind. 

Years bore her on toward womanhood; 

One eve she sat with pensive face, 
And pictured in the Western cloud 

Apollo gay with winning grace. 

Then first the fiends of hell began 
Her fair young soul to gather 'round; 

That eve they met and plans were mäde 
To snare her soul and drag her down; 

32 



To snare her soul the demons planned, 

Apollo came, the maiden feil; 
From virtue's high and holy path 

She turned her face toward death and hell; 

She loved him well, but false he proved, 
Left her unwed with broken heart; 

Her child was born, it lived not long; 
Far better that it should depart. 

Years sped along, a man she wed, 

But happiness attended not; 
Death claimed the man, and widowhood 

And poverty became her lot; 

She tried to lead an honest life, 
O how I tried to lead her right; 

I watched her cottage all the day 
And hovered near her cot by night. 



One soft and calm midsummer night,- 
When men say fairies are astir; 

The moon shed soft and silvery light, 
And summer voices filled the air; 



33 



Again Apollo stood with her 
Upon that step before the door; 

And then a shout was heard in hell 
And demons met as once before, 

This time in exultation loud 

They chanted songs of hellish joy; 

Songs never heard by mortal ears, 
Nor mortals' language they employ. 

The archfiend cried, ''Exult, ye imps; 

For victory this night is ours; 
Yon door is barred 'gainst fiend and imp 

But Ciipid enters every bower." 

^Ye passion fiend assume this form;" 
O how they laughed in devilish glee, 

Now go and do your work füll well, 
A human soul your pay shall be. 



Again a child was born by her 
Without the bonds of holy tie, 

Again deserted, doubly scorned, 

She prayed to God that she might die. 



34 



The holy church of Christ that should 
Have tried to shield and rescue her, 

Withdrew its fellowship and left 
Her soul a prey to black despair. 

In all the world the only one 

Who spurned her not nor turned away, 
Was her poor, wronged, helpless child, 

Who grew in beatity day by day. 

I prayed to God for power then, 
And made her love that little child 

With such a great and tender love, 
As saved her from the demons' wiles, 

And sent her to the Savior's feet, 
With penitential broken heart; 

He healed her soul of sin's disease, 
And bade the luring fiends depart. 

And once again around this tree, 
And once again, within the shade 

Of this old rock, through sunny hours 
A little winsome maiden played. 

35 



Her eyes the tint of heaven's blue, 
Her soul a mirror, polished, fair, 

Reflecting heaven's purity, 

And heavenly thoughts angelic rare. 

/ hovered near her through bright hours, 
And watched the unfolding of her mind, 

Nor suffered any spirit ill 

To come anear with thought tmkind. 

Sadly the mother wept, and thought; 

*In years my fair, sweet, child will grow 
To womanhood and a blighted life, 

For all will her sad story know.' 

So, o'er the mountains, toward the sun, 
I led them forth one dismal day; 

And the child looked back at the rock 
And wept, then turned from it for aye. 

Years came and went; to womanhood 
They bore her on their rapid tide; 

And one sad day the mother saw 
Her darling child a blushing bride; 

36 



They locked the secret in their hearts, 
Nor told it e'er to mortal ears, 

And thus a heavy bürden bore 

That heavier weighed with passing years; 

For children came to bless the home, 
But each dear child must never share 

The guilty knowledge and the shame, 
That for a Hfetime must be theirs; 

And this because the race whom Christ 
Forgives for sins as black as night, 

Cannot forgive the erring one 

Upon whose Hfe is such a bhght. 

Again the years sped fast along, 

And to that home a young man came, 

And asked from there to take a wife 
To bear with him an honored name; 

To go out with him, side by side, 
To preach the gospel of the Son, 

To share his hardships and his toil, 
To share with him the victories won. 

37 



Say not, 'twas accident and stränge, 
'Twas God who sent them to this place 

Where, fifty years ago, the church 
Turned out in sorrow and disgrace, 

The ancestor of her, whom now 
They love and honor and respect; 

Whose tenderness and sympathy 
For erring ones she ne'er suspects 

Was born with her because of tears. 
And sighing sobs and broken heart, 

Of one who Hved beneath a cloiid 

Whose dark'ning shadows ne'er depart. 

My tale is told : The lesson is ; 

That mortal man might cease to spurn 
The erring one, and Christ's own heart 

Of sympathy and pardon learn. 

So see thou write it word for word, 
Nor aught omit I teil to thee; 

Then send it forth to teach the world 
How God, in clouds and mystery, 

Is weaving life to life to make 
The woof of human destiny; 

And light miist mingled he ivith shade 
And somber hiie with brightness be. 

38 



SIR VÄNE MODERN. 



Ä SPIRITUAL DRAMA. 



Sir IDane /IDoöern. 

Preludial. 

Rise, Impenetrable curtain that hides 
From mortal eyes the activities o^f 
The spirit world; — Transliicent curtain 
Through which, seeing not, yet flashes 
Light athwart the stage of human Hfe. 
Utter your prologue, Actors in the Divine 
Drama, and let us see, — and hear; 
The rustling of angelic wings; the forms of 
Angel ministers; the low sweet sound 
Of angels' conversation ; and the Golden 
Censer, swung by angel hands, enclouding 
Every human soul with incense 
Kindled at the flame of God's effulgent 
Being of purity and holiness and love. 
In the dark background; hosts of sin 
In form, temptations fiends become, 
And dark passions, demons. 



41 



Persons. 

Sir Vane Modern, called *'Sir," because 
In all essential features of knighthood, 
He is a knight; gallant, chivalrous, and brave. 
Called ''Vane," because he is vain, proud, 
Sometimes conceited; oftimes misunderstood. 
So sensitive bis nature, it may be compared 
To a finely strung harp, responding 
In deep, lo'w tones, to vibrations 
Of other instruments 'round it; 
And, as in the still air and finely tuned string 
Unheard music lies awaiting the touch 
Of a master band, so, deep in bis soul 
There lies the throbbing, reverberating tones, 
That will fiU, and thrill the hearts of men, 
When touched by the band of the Master. 
And "Modern", because he is modern, — 
In life, and deed, and thought; — for bim 
Have wrought, ages, nations, races. — 
Luella, bis counterpart in many things, 
His opposite in many more; each being 
Molded, partly by the influence of the other, 

42 



Partly by their conception of the perfect in the 

other. 
Our task to show one gospel, and one 
Saviour for them both. 
Men and women, victims of sin, whose 
Identity disclosed, might rob the tale of relish. 
Fiends, demons, angels; Heaven's host 
And hosts of Satan doing battle for a soul. 



I. 

Place — A brilliantly lighted saloon. 

Present^ — Habitues, — In all stages of the drunk- 
ard's progress from health and respect- 
ability, to degradation and death; fiends 
and demons urging them on to destruc- 
tion. 

Arch-ßend. 
Sing, ye fiends, in exultation, 

Here's a scene that's meet for you; 
Never, since mankind's creation, 

Yie beheld a fairer view; 

43 



Lights are dazzling, tables burnished, 
Man's best work of band and brain 

Has our tabernacles furnished, 
They have wrought for our gain; 

Bright decanters füll and brimming, 
See them bear them to tlieir lips; 

Ha, the fiery curses swimming 
In each tiny little sip! 

Blacker grow their souls while drinking, 

Fitter they become to dwell 
Where they're daily, nightly sinking, 

In the drunkard's lowest hell. 

First üend. 
See yon mortal aged and wretched, 

Tottering into the grave; 
He had near escaped our clutches, 

He had thought his soul to save; 
But I found him with temptation; 

Reached him through his thirst for wine, 
Brought him here to drink damnation; 

And his soul's forever mine. 

44 



Second ßend. 

I have wrought a greater ruin, 
Floodgates of damnation loosed; 

Seething caldron set abrewing, 
That is sure to wreck a host. 

See yon mortal, wan and haggard, 

See the wild and haunted mien; 
That was once a loving father, 

Once he bore an honored name; 
He'd a daughter fair and noble, 

He'd a loving wife and true, 
They were laboring 'mongst the humble, 

Our work striving to undo; 
So I then beheld his nature, 

Saw his weakness and his -strength; 
In his way a fallen creature 

Placed; he feil his towering length; 
Downward plunged, and deeper downward, 

Drank the dregs of sin and woe, 
And his wife, temptation found her, 

Homeless shivering in the snow. 



45 



And, when his wicked heart was bursting 

With a fierce desire for gold 
To satisfy the hellish thirsting, 

His own daughter's virtue sold. 
In yon gilded hell behold them, 

They, the erstwhile pure and good, 
Now a thousand fiends enfold them^ 

Ruined, — lost, — their womanhood ; 
Ha! There is no power 'mong mortals, 

A fallen woman can surpass, 
Dragging men down to hell's portals; 

Lodging there their souls at last. 

Third ßend. 
I have done your bidding, master, 

Sir Vane Modern here have brought; 
See him drinking, deeper, faster, 

From our seething damning pot; 
See his fair face flushed with liquor, 

(Curse the beauty of his brow,) 
Weaker grows his brain and thicker; 

Ha, he's in our power now! 
See his manly virtues weaken, 

See his passions all aflame, 

46 



Soon we'U have him at our beckon, 
Lost to honor, virtue, shame. 

Arch-ßend. 

But he wavers; Ah, his mother's 

Image floats before his eyes, — 
Curse the spirits, — and another 

Now looks on in sad surprise; 
'Tis a guardian angel sent in 

Answer to a low breathed prayer 
Hear it even now ascending, — 

Hateful fragrance on the air. 

[The prayer.] 

O Thoii God of tender mercy, 
Save my zvandering boy fonight; 

Help me Father, still to triist Thee, 
Know Thou doest all things right. 

Hear it, fiends, I say and help me; 

For the angel stronger grows 
With each added word ascending, 

And we shall our power lose. 

47 



Ah, 'tis useless, we are beaten; 

(Curse the angel and the prayer) — 
See his conscience now awakened, 

See his soul now filled with fear; 
Leave him now, ye imps of passion. 

Lest ye loathsome do become; 
And, arousing his suspicion, 

Ye shall find no longer home 
In his nature; filled with virtue, 

Ye no lodgment find, nor place, 
For his soul will close against you, 

If unduly, ye make haste. 

IL 

Place — A cosy sitting room. 

Present — Sir Vane Modern, sitting by an open fire 
in deep meditation; angels loo' ng on 
him in love and compassion. 

First angel. 
Fair he is with form so manly, 

Let US now his nature scan; 
Capable of doing grandly, 

Noblest deeds required of man; 

48 



Soul of mortal, all immortal, 

O, what destiny awaits! 

[Whispers to him.] 
Soul, thoü'rt Standing at the portal 

Both of hell and heaven's gates. 
But thy spirit's ear is wholly 

Closed against my spirit voice; 
O Thou holy, holy, holy! 

'Round Whose throne e'en now rejoice 
Tholisands saved by angels' warning, 

May we not once more assume 
The garb in which, in early morning 

Of creation, we spake doom? 

Second Angel. 

Nay, the spirit voice is clearer 

Than the voice of flesh and blood, 
Let US draw a little nearer; 

Let our presence, like a floöd 
Of light from heaven bathe his spirit, 

Of music soothe his weary soul; 
Not too close, he cannot bear it; 

Nay, some stränge, uncanny ghoul 

49 



He'll tliink has come to haunt his rev'rie 

If the rustle of a wing, 
Or a foot-fall break the silence, — 

Let the Golden Censer swing. 

Sir Vane Modern, Meditating. 

From some dim and distant recess 

Voices seem to beckon me, 
Voices caUing, always calHng, 

, " 'Rouse, prepare, eternity 
Awaits; and loved ones whom you promised 

There in that bright land to meet, 
Waiting, longing the glad tidings, 

Of your return to God to greet." 

And my mother's prayer ascending 

I can fancy that I hear; 
Prayers for me are unavaihng, 

Dearest mother, and your tears; 

I cannot beHeve your bible; 

Whether man a future has, 

Is reserved to be discovered 

When death's portals he has passed; 
so 



All things are material, 

And all things suffer endless change; 
If, surviving death's ordeal, 

Elysian fields he's sent to ränge, 
God of love must give his creatures 

All the happiness He holds; 
He, Himself, endows their natures, 

Passions gives they can't control. 
Still I feel some stränge emotion 

Stir my heart and fill my mind, 
Like some presence hovering near me, 

Vague — unreal — undefined. 

[He sleeps.] 

Third Angel. 

In waking thotights we may not mingle, 

For Unbelief has barred the door; 
Yet in dreams we may impress him 

As weVe done so oft before, 
Not sublimest things to show him, 

By degrees he must be led; 
Let it be Death's rolling river, 

The bridge where passeth all the dead; 

51 



More terrible to him appearing, 

Than to them whom Christ makes free 

From the sting of second death, 
And the dark grave's victory. 

Sir Vane Modern. 

[Awakes and recalls his dream.] 

I dreamed I stood where I could see 
Both the land of Time and Eternity, 

And Time looked fresh and young and gay, 
Eternity old and worn and grey; 

I saw a mighty bridge, and piers, 
Spanning a river of blood and tears; 

I saw a mighty host pass by, 

Blanched was each cheek, each fearful eye 

Fixed on Futurity, awful State, 
To which ahke both low and great 

Are hurrying on with miournful tread, 
Filline their place in the ranks of the dead. 

52 



Some from beds of pain were taken, 

And some from dreams of pleasure 'wakened; 

Some on the cross of Christ laid hold 
And welcomed the monster grim and cold, 

And some still cursed with their latest breath 
And were stricken down by the angel Death. 



And silently, ceaselessly, march they on 

iWhilst ages roll away; 
And the Car of Time is sweeping along, 
Crushing alike the weak and the strong, 

Alike the sad and the gay. 



But these thoughts will mad my brain; 

Why should I sit moping here? 
The cup of pleasure let me drain, 

Let me drown my morbid fear. 



53 



III. 

Place — A degraded dance house. 

Present — Dancers, revelers, debauchees, demons. 

Arch ßend. 

Ha, behold another Sodom! 

Urge them on in song and dance; 
Touch the bow upon the viol, 

Seducing strains their souls entrance. 
Imps of passion, let not virtue 

Claim a single vestige here; 
Black the souls of all who mingle, 

Drive away all thought of fear. 

Ha, ye fiends, again behold him, 

Sir Vane Modern in our midst; 
No, ye imps, do not enfold him, 

Lest again our prey we miss. 
Send some spirit blithe and gladsome, 

Clothed in beauteous robes of light, 
On whose soul the brand of hell is 

Stamped in sin as black as night. 

54 



Let it be, ye fiends, that daughter, 
Who was sold for thirst of wine, 

Who since then has found no^ pleasure 
Save in dragging down mankind. 

[Sir Vane Modern is approached by a beautiftd 
woman, zvho offers him a glass and 
chants in a lozv miisical voice.] 

Here's a rest from care 

And adieu to pain, 
A balm for the soul 

And delight to the brain; 

'Tis a potion of love, 

And the earth's greatest king 

Would barter his throne 
For the joys it will bring; 

'Tis the nectar distilled 

From the sweet rose of mo'rn, 

In the garden of Eden 

Where love was jfirst born. 

Drink deeply and, lo, 

You're transported with joy, 

55 



And wander through pleasures 
Unmixed with alloy. 

O come, let us float 

Like the mist on the air, 
Swayed gently, by breezes, 

Adown the hall where 

Light feet beat the measure 

Of musical strains; 
Nepenthe of life! 

A balm for all pains. 

[As they join the throng two angcls enter. 

First Angel. 

Alas, Alas! the desecration, 

Virtue lying, prostrate, prone; 
Had the Great God, in creation, 

Sought other image than His own, 
Then we might bear them hence away 

Or we might drive the demons hence; 
Nay, then there had no demons been, 

No awful place of torment whence 

56 



The fiends are sent to tempt mankind, 

For man could not have tempted been 
Had not there been the spark of light 

Within bis soul that showed bim sin; 
Nor could be e'er bave risen bigb 

To sit witb Hirn upon His tbrone, 
As promised now to tbose wbo figbt 

And every sinful lust o'ercome. 

Second Angel. 

I believe tbat God, tbis nigbt, 

Hatb baffled all tbe demons' wiles; 
For tbe one tbey've sent to snare bim 

Was bis playmate as a cbild; 
One around wbose darkened life 

Yet lingers ballowed influence sweet, 
Of prayers of pure motber love 

Ascending to tbe mercy seat; 
And tbougb that motber feil, and sinned, 

And drank tbe bitter cup of woe; 
(Before sbe died sbe turned to Him 

Wbo every trial and weakness knows;) 

57 



Yet those prayers were offered up, 

In purity of faith and heart, 
And the God whom we obey, 

Will never from his word depart. 

Let US try to ope their eyes, 

That in each other they may see 
A relic of the childhood days, 

They passed in love and purity; 
And if some spark of holy love 

We may rekindle in their hearts, 
The luring passion fiends of hell 

Forever from them must depart. 

[The dancers pause and the angels come near them. 

Sir Vane Modern. 

I thought e'en now some feature 
Of one long years ago I knew; 

Some feature or some tone of voice 
Again I recognized in you. 

His Companion. 

Ah, wliat Strange thoughts hold revel 
In my maddened brain this night! 

58 



My mind went reeling backward, 
As you stood beneath the light, 

To the happy days of childhood 
When, in innocence I played 

With a little boy that looked like you, 
Beneath a great oak's shade. 

Sir Vane Modern. 
Luella! Now I know 'tis you, 

O, flee this life of shame; 
I loved you then, I love you now; 

So come and bear my name. 
There's mercy for the vilest 

Even by the Christian's creed; 
(But the Christian world accepts it 

In name and not in deed ; ) 
But come with me, Luella, 

And we'll both forgive the past. 
And we'll lead an honest life 

And leave an honored name at last. 

Luella. 
O, speak not of an honored name 
To such a one as I; 

59 



I loved you truly once, Sir Vane, 

And so I bid you fly; 
The pang of death is in my soul, 

The brand in on my brow; 
And whilst eternal ages roll 

I see myself as now. 
O, mother, could I but liave died 

While prattling 'round your knee, 
And filling your young heart with pride, 

How better far for me. 
There's mercy for the vilest still 

Whose sins to heaven do cry; 
'Come unto me whoever will" , 

Is not for such as I. 

Aligel Aside. 
Ah, poor soul, could I but show thee 

How very near thy Saviour is; 
Though lost and ruined still He holds thee 

A poor and erring lamb of His; 
Though the world might ever shun thee, 

Ever brand thee as unclean; 
Every leprous scale falls from thee 

When, by faith, His face is seen. 

60 



But perchance by vision to thee 
I could show His blessed form, 

O'er tumultotis waves unto thee, 
Coming, stilling wind and storm. 

Luella. 
[Peering oiitzvard as upon a vision.'\ 

Storm-tossed on a sea of passion 

A frail bark I behold; 
A bark that is wondrously fashioned; 

It is — It is my soul ! 

White sails are wide furled to the breeze, 

She bows before the gale; 
She Speeds o'er wild and furious seas, 

Wild winds fill every sail. 

O God, I look and shudder; 

And anxiously I wait, 
No anchor has she, nor rudder; 

Adrift on the shores of fate. 

The seething seas flow o'er her deck, 
The fiends of night exult; 

61 



She tries to foUow at their beck 
Midst furious tumult. 

Out o'er the billows foam crested 

Behold a phantom form, 
The joy of the fiends is arrested, 

Their prey from them is torn; 

For He speaks and the wild waves are still, 
Hushed is the voice of the wind; 

He commands them all at His will, 
He holds them all in his hand. 

O'er the wild waves I fly to His bosom, 
At the cross I leave all my sin; 

In his loving arms reposing, 
E'en me His love takes in; 

O, my heart with such rapture is filled ! 

Such ecstacy thrills through my soul, 
I shall live but to do His sweet will 

While the years o'f eternity roll. 

[They leave the place, never to return.] 



62 



IV. 

[Sir Vane Modern in his sitting room, a book before 
Jiini. Angels Jiover near.'\ 

Sir Vane Modern. 
I have read the sacred story, read it o'er and o'er 

again ; 
How the angels came at even to the city on the piain; 

And then in imagination I can see the Valley fair, 
Bathed in all the gorgeous glory of an Eastern sun- 
set rare; 

Hedged in by friendly mountains onward stretching 

to the sea; 
Like the garden of the Lord in beauty and fertility; 

Dotted o'er with clinging fruit vines, purple Clusters 

hanging low. 
And the sunset, on the bosom of the placid lake 

below, 

Painting all the hues of heaven as the shadows come 

and gO'; 
Shifting from the royal purple to the fires lurid 

glow; 

63 



Glinting o'er the walls and towers of the city nestled 

near, 
W'here are gay and giddy thousands, God defying 

without fear, 

Seeking only carnal pleasures; reveling in sensuous 

ease; 
Till from His righteous throne in heaven their de- 

struction God decrees. 

Then swift He sends His warning angels, not in 

royal robes of light; 
But appearing like two strangers seeking lodging 

for the night. 

I can hear the murmuring voices floating outward 

on the air, 
Laden with perfume of blossöms, grown in rieh pro- 

fiision rare; 

Hear the sound of dance and music, as more revelers 

join the throng; 
Lithesome forms keep swaying motion to some lewd 

unholy song. 

64 



Men, not men, but fiends incarnate; women lost to 

sense of shame; 
Dancing, swaying, reeling, drunken; hearts with 

pride and lust aflame. 

Beauteous tresses hanging loosely, forms unhol^ 

passions woo; 
Feet in rythmic measure beating, — ancient scene in 

modern view, — 

And as the hour of night grows later nameless sins 

to heaven cry, 
And the angel messengers proclaim, "Escape or eise 

ye die;" 

But the angel proclamiation fafls on all unheeding 

ears, 
And they light the shrines of idols, and they drink 

and drown their fears; 

And they think h'ow long their gods have given all 

that earth could yield, 
Of the pleasures of their revels and the plenty of 

their fields. 

65 



''God will sure destroy this city," still the messen- 

gers proclaim; 
"Flee away into the mountains, tarry not in all the 

piain." 

Now the crimson streaks of morning lighten up the 

Eastern sky, 
And the dancers are aweary, dimmed is the lustrous 

eye; 

And they fain would seek their shelter e'er the 

breaking of the light, 
Not alone to rest their bodies; biit to hide their 

shame from sight. 

Then the wrath of God, slow gathering through the 

years they have defied 
All His law and all His mercies, in flesh's liist and 

spirit's pride, 

Breaks upon them ; and the earth that long has 

yielded fruits in time, 
Is rolling, rumbling and grating, shaken by the 

power Divine; 

66 



And the heavens that had always yielded gentle 

dews by night, 
Are quick with darkning clouds o'ercasted, torn by 

lightnings' lurid light. 

Then a wail, despairing, bitter, mingles witB the 

thundering roar, 
As the fiery clouds are rifted, and the iires downward 

pour. 

Like the threshing of the barley when it's garnered 

in and dry; 
Or the flashing of ten thousand bolts of lightning 

from the sky; 

Or the rushing of an army, leaving naught but death 

behind ; 
So the rain of fire upon them crush their walls and 

beat them fine; 

So it, rushing, seething, faUing, greets the terror- 
stricken eye 

Like ten thousand bolts of lightning hurled upon 
them from the sky. 

67 



And the lurid, leaping flames, like a conquering host 

devour ; 
Leaving naught but smoke and ruin of palace grand 

or lowly bower. 



Have angels ceased their visits to 
the sons of men, 
Or are they mingHng with the giddy, now, as e'en 
they mingled then; 

For I read the word called sacred, thus 'tis plainly 

written there, 
"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to them 

who shall be heirs?" 

Angel Voices, I can hear you ! though no forms I can 

behold, — 
Though no whisper breaks the siljence, — yet 'tis 

thrilling through my soul; 

"Flee! Oh, flee thy youthful pleasures! Seek the 

Mountain or ye die." 
Seek the mountain of salvation, faith in Christ will 

bring it nigh, 

68 



Now a great stair opes before me; downward, bot- 

tomless, and black; 
Wretches trying to ascend it, laughing fiends that 

hold them back. 

Down I peer ; — Can they be human ; they who on the 

last Step stand? 
Clammy, creeping fiends enfold them, chains are 

placed on foot and band; 

Black despair on features haggard; anguish wrung 

f rom shrieking soul ; 
Horror! Horror! woe unspoken, — Company of 

earthly ghoul 

Would be heaven, or some wierd, uncanny, woeful 

witches' dell 
Would be paradise, compared to that Company of 

hell. 

See them plunging downward, outward, where no 

ray of hope or light, 
Ever pierces through the darkness : Blacker than 

Plutonian night, 

69 



Is the blackness of the darkness that enshrouds the 

doomed soul, 

Where no ray of hope e'er enters while eternal ages 
roll. 



Loud the cries of exultation from a million demons' 

throats ; 
Loud the shrieks of doomed and dying on his wak- 

ened hearing smote; 

And his soul seemed torn asunder, awe and horror 

shook his frame; 
And an angel whispered to him, "Tis the way of sin 

and shame." 

Angel. 
Ah, he's Coming nearer, nearer, 

Could we but awake in him 
The simple faith of poor Luella, 

Who on wings of cherubim, 

Was outward borne, and out, and upward 
To the throne of God on high, 

Where temptation never cometh, 

Nor saddened heart, nor sorrows' sigh 

70 



But his mind, alert and active, 
Roams the fields of logic drear; 

Perchance in strong Imagination, 
Standing at God's judgment bar, 

We could show how human merit 
Is but dross, and worse than naught; 

That the only soul salvation, 

Is that which by Christ was bought; 

Perchance in dream or vision open 

Up the vista of the years; 
Let him gaze upon the ages, 

Fraught with dying hopes and fears; 

Let him see that, though he's power 
To walk the aisles of centuries dim 

And grey with ages passing o'er them; 
Yet the future's blank to him. 

Except he read it by the Lamp, — 
Shining in a darkened place, — 

Of Revelation, in the Word, 
Given by God's love and grace. 

71 



Sir Vane Modern. 

I dreamed I stood at heaven's gate, 

In trembling and fear, 
And I heard a voice that thrilled me through, 

Say, "Warden, who' comes here?" 
Tis but a pilgrim, Lord," he said, 

"A pilgrim poor and worn; 
He pleads the blood that Jesus shed. 
He pleads the crosses borne." 

'Admit him then," the same voice said, 

"For he the password has," 
And the pearly gates swung open wide, 

The Jasper walls I passed; 
And O, the rapture of that view ! 

Surpassing, wondrous bright! 
How was my weary soul thrilled through 

With wonder and delight. 

The shining vistas, I beheld, 

Of minaret and dorne; 
Pure waters sparkling in the light, 

Fit place for angels' home; 

72 



The Tree of Life, the throne o'f Go'ä, 

The crystal streets of gold; 
O'er all a radiant glory shed 

No mortal could behold. 

I stood before the bar of God 

In silence deep, profound, 
Nor rustling wing, nor falling foot, 

Nor harp gave any sound; 
''Who pleads his cause," the great Judge said, 

The angles looked and wept; 
Then suddenly unto my side 

Jesus of Nazareth stepped; 

He showed His hands, He showed H'is feet, 

He showed His wounded side; 
He said, ''O Father, this is one 
For whom on earth I died." 
"Let the books be opened," then was said, — 
"Life's record of this one," 
And O, I trembled as I thought 
How little I had done; 



73 



And the years came crowding back to me, 

The years I spent in sin, 
And what my Saviour's agony 

For all these years had been; 
'Torgive me, O forgive!" I cried. 

And feil down at his feet; 
He Said, "It was for this I died; 

To blot this record out." 

xA.nd then my deeds of good stood out. 

In letters golden bright, 
For all the host of heaven to read 

In heaven's pure light; 
And Oh, how stränge a .thing it seemed 

That heaven should record 
The little deed, the kindly thought, 

The gracious smile and word; 

And yet, in heaven's magnitude 

Of holiness and löve, 
How little seemed the page of good 

That I had written above; 
Then the angels whispered mournfully, 
*'His record will not stand." 

74 



But Jesus, not ashamed of me, 

Still held my trembling hand; 
And said, '^Oh Father, not alone 

In his own strength he Stands; 
But washed in my own blood that flowed 

From out my side and hands." 

Then I heard a voice in heaven 

As the 'Voice of many waters, " 
As the "voice of mighty thunderings," 

I heard the "voice of harpers", 
And they sang the new, new song, 

And the walls of heaven rang; , 
The song of man's redemption, 

Of Moses and the Lamb. 

And e'en the holy angels 

And all the hosts above, 
Can never sing that glad new song 

Of Jesus and FTis love. 

[The an geh draw near. He sfill iiieditates.] 

Slowly to the hour of midnight 
Creeps the hand upon the dial, 

75 



Softly ticks, the seconds speeding, 
But I lie awake erstwhile, 

Listening to the myriad voices 
Calling to me from the deep; 

From the misty deep surrounding 
All the world enwrapt in sleep. 

Now my tired soul is resting 

On the borderland of sleep; 
And the senses, all too weary, 

Faithful guard no longer keep; 
Fancy, from the throne of Reason, 

Waves her mystic, magic wand, 
And the spirits of the Ages, 

Whispering, seem to hoA^er 'round. 

Outward on the boundless ocean 

Of eternity I look; 
Time with all its mighty changes, 

Opes before me like a book; 
Busy scenes, and scenes of pleasure; 

Battles din, and commerce boom; 
I behold within the cities 

All enshrouded now in gloom. 

76 



Dark, mysterious, were the changes 
Wrought by Time's remorsless hand; 

Palaces and gilded temples, 

Covered now by drifting sands. 

Now the scene is quickly shifted; 

To ancient Brittain's rocky shore 
Comes the wild and savage Northman, 

Comes in fierce and hungry hordes; 
Ruin, dreary desolation, 

Broken hearts and ruined homes, 
Mark his pathway everywhere 

As o'er the Britain's Isla he roams. 

Aztec now, and Montezuma 

Swiftly pass across the stage, 
And upon a busy scene of action 

Now I stand and gaze; 
Mighty earthworks, mounds of wörship 

And protection from their foe, — 
But the scene is incomplete, when 

From the stage they too must go. 

Hark! there's music now in heaven, 
"Peace on earth, good will to man;" 

77 



And a radiant star is beckoning, 
'Tis the ''Star of Bethlehem;" 

Broken are the chains of darkness, 
Light has broke across the wave; 

King "Emanuel among us," 
Mighty to defend and save. 

Outward, ever out and upward 

Soars my weary soul on high; 
Oh, Thou author of my being, 

Take nie closer to Thy side; 
Oh, I thank Thee for the power, 

For the faculty subUme, 
Which enables me to view 

The ever shifting scenes of Time; 

But, alone^ I cannot wander 

O'er the gulf that lies before, — 
Like the weary dove that wandered 

The expanse of waters o'er, 
So, without the ark of safety, 

There's no rest for human feet. 
Take rne, Oh, Thou great Jehovah! 

Let my being be complete; 

78 



Blood of cleansing, freely sprinkled,— 

And the City now I see, 
VVhere decay can never enter, 

Mansions bright, prepared for me; 
Boldly out into the future 

May my spirit wing its flight, 
If it's anchored to His promise ; 

If it's basking in the Hght. 



Countless ages, I behold you, 
You no terrors have for me — 

Anchored to the Rock of Ages, 
Peacefully I rest in Thee. 

Angel. 
See the dark clouds gathering, rolhng rays of helHsh 

Itght; 
Host of fiends assembHng, coming on in deviHsh 

might ; 
Hear the hissing and the cursing, — Demons floating 

in the air, — 
For they see their prey escaping. Gird thyself, thine 

arm make bare. ' 



79 



Angel host, and host of demons doing battle for a 

soul ; 
Lurid, leaping flames of sulphur, break their bounds 

and upward roll; 
Writhing, clashing, raving, cursing, onward come 

the demons still; 
Fearing, hating, fiend hearts bursting with a fierce 

desire for ill. 
Now from out the battlement of heaven flashes rays 

of light, 
And on that spirit battlefield there Stands a radiant 

being bright; 
Gouds and darkness back are falling, fiends and 

demons fleeing fast; 
Heaven's Hght is beaming o'er him; joy in heaven! — 

Peace at last ! 

Sir Vane Modern. — (Enraptured.) 

Lo! they roll, roll, roll! 
Waves of light aslant my soul! 
Waves ai light from out the throne, 
Ever outward, upward, on, — 

Waves of light. 

Pure white. 
Roll, Roll, aslant my soul. 

80 



Lo ! they roll, like a scroll 
Do the heavens backward roll, 
And the throne I now behold — 
Glory! Beauty! Peace untold; 

Pure white, 

View so bright, 
Ever roll aslant my soul. 

Lo ! they roll, in rapture, roll — 
Strains of music to my soul — 
Strains from angel harps of gold- 
Ecstacy! Oh, joy untold! 

Celestial sounds, 

Brake their bounds 
And roll, roll, aslant my soul. 

Lo! it rolls, it ever rolls, — 
Pean of redeemed souls; 
Ever sung before the throne, 
Ever sung in tongue unknown 

To Cherubim 

And Seraphim, — 
It ever rolls aslant my soul. 

8J 



Lo ! it rolls, it ceaseless rolls, — 
Pröcession of redeemed souls; 
Souls redeemed from out the world, 
Entering- through the Gates of Pearl 

To join the throng 

With harp and song — 
Ceaseless rolls, aslant my soul. 

Lo! it rolls, deep, supernal; 
Universal, song eternal ; 
Harp of man, and harp of angel 
In the glorious anthem mingle — 

"Worthy He 

Of Calvary," 
Deep, it rolls aslant my soul. 



82 



Zbc Dero CalL 

(Written for a temperance meetingf.) 

Muster Earth! thy heroes all; 
Men, to break the demon's thrall, 
Men of brawn and men of might; 
Men for freedom born to fight. 

Spirits of the noble brave! 
Whose bodies molder in the grave; 
Men who, Theseus like, have fought, 
With mighty sword or mightier thought; 

Men who braved the ocean wide; 
Men who conquered Britain's pride; 
Men who biiilt a mighty State, 
That freemen love and tyrants hate; 

Men who caught the wheels of time 
And urged them on with faith sublime; 
Who made a thousand years of night 
Give way at once to freedom's light! 

Men who freedom's birthright gave, 
With freemen's life, to pleading slave, — 
May the pulse of your hero hearts be stirred 
As ye hear again the signal word. 

83 



Hark! the hungry mouths that plead, 
Oh, the broken hearts that bleed! 
*'Yöu must succor, you must save" 
To the Hving calls the sainted brave. 

"By our sacrifice and blood; 
By the thorny paths we trod, 
We conjure you in freedom's name, 
Arise! put down a nation's shame." 



84 



TLo tbe Hrtöel ot tbe Uomb. 

Art thou the angel of the tomb? 

And didst thou see the Saviour He, 
Enshrouded and enwrapped in gloom, 

And hover near Hirn night and day? 

Didst look upon His pale dead face, 
His Hfeless and decaying form, 

Type and emblem of a Race, 

Prey for the all devouring worm? 

Didst hear the crash of quaking earth; 

The thunders of that awful sotind, 
Proclaiming universal birth, 

A healing for death's hurtling wound? 

Blessed art thou ! yea more than blest, 
Thou chosen Messenger Divine; 

The saddest, sweetest, holiest quest 
Bequeathed to Seraph e'er, was thine. 

And when at last, from earthly thrall, 
Forever free, my soul shall rise, 

I'll understand the mystery all, 

That buoys my soul, but blinds my eyes. 



85 



ITbe Cure tot Hlnrest» 

Into a Strange valley my soul traveled down; 

'Twas the ghoul haunted vale of Unrest, 
Invisable presences hovered around, 

Black clouds and dark dampness oppressed. 

I knew not the path to this desolate vale, 
Nor wherefore my soul traveled here, 

I knew not the ghosts that did constant assail 
Nor lingered to gaze on their hier. 

My soul sought nepenthe, but sought all in vain; 

Pale phantoms of joy danced before, 
While echoes of laughter but mocked at my pain 

And died in a sad "nevermore." 

"Out of the darkness, O God, unto Thee!" 
I cried, "will I Stretch forth my hands; 

In loving compassion Thou lookest on me, 
Asunder O God, break these bands;" 

"And then my freed spirit in joy once again 
Shall gaze on Faith's evergreen shore; 

Where no doubts molest me nor fears cause me pain, 
But joy reign within evermore." 

86 



/iDemor^, 

Oh, hidden faculty divine! 
Inscribing on this soul of mine, 

My life from day to day; 
And though a veil may intervene, 
To consciousness may be unseen, 

'Tis written there for aye. 

Mysterfious Seif Subordinal ! 

Thou holdest consciousness in thrall, 

Nor aught escapes thee hence; 
But ever and anon the veil 
Is rifted and a mystic sail 

Sweeps o'er the sea of sense. 

Its freight; mysterious, shifting scenes, 
Nor Space nor time that intervenes, 

And sound's stränge ebb and flow; 
And lo! I tread the distant shore; 
Behold the scenes I saw of yore, 

In life long, long ago. 



87 



•jbeart ot /iDtne» 

Oh, heart of mine be still; 
It is the Father's will 

That you should suffer more; 
To tread the path that's pure, 
These pangs you must endure, 

So help divine implore. 

Oh, heart of mine be glad, 
Be not cast down or sad, 

It is the Father's way; 
Though all be dark, just stand, 
And clasp the Father's Hand, 

He leads you to the day. 

Oh, heart of mine be strong, 

Stand midst the world's great throng 

Of throbbing human life. 
And let your manhood ring; 
The metal of a king 

Is tempered by the strife. 



88 



LOFC. 



I saw the heavens darkened, 

And the sky 

Like a great black curtain 

Reaching out, 

Until from North to South 

And East and West 

It met and settled down, 

Like the night's 

Im'penetrable robe of blackest hue. 

And every voice of nature then 

Was hushed, 

And dread the solemn silence 

Which ensued; 

And then in the black vault 

Of heaven 

There stood a cross of fire, 

Which assumed, 

While I gazed, the form of Calvary. 

And a stränge shifting Hght, 
Such as earth 

Never before had witnessed, 
Streaming down 

89 



From the sacred wounds of Hirn 

Who was pierced, 

Laying bare to very eye 

All hidden things 

Of the heart, of all humanity. 

And Strange it seemed that I should heed 

Not the terror 

Of tho'se who rejected Christ and spurned 

His great love, 

While through the ages He had 

Tenderly plead : 
"Will ye be reconciled to God?" 
"Look to Me, 

And be saved", "whoever will." 

And boldly then as to a 

Throne of Grace 

I canie, remenlbering Jesus' blood, 

And that my faith 

In it had made me whole; 

Passing then 

Beneath the throne, I mingled with 

The mighty host 

That praises Hirn, world without end. 

90 



Übe pi^ies ot doruwalU 

(For the Children.) 

"Laughing like a pixie," 

Did you ever hear the phrase? 
Did any one e'er teil you? 

And were you not amazed? 
To hear of these small elves, 
Who can't behave themselves, 
These merry, fairy, pixies in old' Cornwall. 

The souls of ancient Celts, 

Who from their religious rites, 

Would never be converted, 

So were turned into these Sprites; 

Not good enough for heaven; 

But yet to them was given, 
To dwell as fairy Pixies in old Cornwall. 

And Gurions are the antics 

Of these ''small folks in green;" 
'The others" as they're called; 
Because you know, I ween, 
You cannot say a word, 
But by them it is heard, 
And they'U raise the fairy dickens in old Cornwall. 

91 



Steal away your baby, 

Leave a changeling in its place; 

Charm away your beauty, 

Leave you with an ugly face; 

And take you while you're sleeping, 

Into wondrous caverns peeping; 
These funny, fairy Pixies of old Cornwall. 

The frisky, trixy, Pixies, 

Dancing 'mid the heather bells; 

Making fairy music, 

Casting tricky, magic spells 

Over those whom they dislike; 

Make them lose their way at night; 
These pesky, trixy Pixies of old Cornwall. 

These tricky, pesky Pixies, 

Cutting capers every where ; 
Romping, laughing, chanting ; 

When you think that they're not near 
They'll take you by surprise, 
Make you close your eyes, 
These gamb'ling, trix y Pixies of old Cornwall. 



92 



Übe Btble» 

(Written on the fly leaf of a friend's Bible.) 

There are beauties untold 

Which Ulis book will unfold, 
When we yield to its influence sweet; 

When we take it to heart 

It a joy will impart, 
Without which no life is complete. 

There are truths that, sublime, 

Through ages of time, 
Have shone with a splendor so bright, 

That the scholar and sage, 

And the infidel's rage, 
Have ne'er dimmed the God-given Light. 

It is God's word to man; 

When its pages you scan, 
May this truth ever be in your mind; 

As you study the Word, 

The blessings unheard, 
Of pardoning Love may you find. 



93 



Christ's mission done well, 

God's justice upheld, 
While mercy illumines the cross; 

The great heart that bled, 

'Salvation has shed 
For you that you need not be lost. 



94 



Ib^mn ot tbe ©ppresseö» 

(Rev. 6:9-10.) 

Thou mighty and mercifiil Ancient of Days ! 
Whose name is adored, whose justice is praised, 
Look down on thy people who under the rod 
Of distress and oppression cry unto their God, 
As the souls of the martyrs revealed untO' John 
Whilst exiled in Patmos, "How long, Oh, how long" 
Our God and our Father most holy and true 
Dost Thou not avenge and Thy righteousness prove? 

"How long, Oh, how long", since man first began 
To defy Thee, Thou mighty preserver of man, 
This cry has been heard 'bove the tumult and jar 
And convulsions of nations as Thy sweeping car, 
Of decree and of destiny, rolls on its way 
Through kingdoms and empires it marks with decay: 
And they totter and tumble, they pass as a breath; 
Their cities are ruins, a blight as of death 
Is spread like a pall on the ancient domains, 
On their rivers and harbors, their Valleys and plains. 

In the dark middle ages when every crime 
Was done in Thy name, Thou Father of Time, 
Religion a pretext for rapine and blood 
Turned loose on the face of the earth like a flood, 

95 



As a faraway echo, a lowly breathed song, 

Thou still wert entreated, "How long, Oh, how 

long." 
He speaks and the Harlot that has made nations 

drunk 
Is robbed of her branches and Stands, like the trunk 
Of a storm-riven oak, tili corrupt with decay 
Her life is sapped out and she too passed away. 

As the voice of the torrent, as loudly it roars, 

Increasing in volume as onward it pours 

O'er rocks and through canyons and rushes away 

To mingle its noise with the roar of the sea, 

So this cry has been gathering in centuries past, 

Increasing in volume, and bursting at last 

In the ears of oppressors, as a fiery dart 

From the torch of Electo strikes fear to the heart, 

So it makes them to fear and their stony hearts 

quake 
While their thrones and their palaces totter and 

shake ; 
And they'U tumble and fall in confusion and blood, 
Then out of the wreck will our Sovereign, our God, 
Build an Empire just, and a City so bright 
No sun will be needed, for ''He is the Light." 

96 



SOUVENIR PAGES. 




METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. CONNEAUT LAKE, PA. 







, m 



m t, 




ON LAKESIDE DRIVE. 



m 




THE LAKE FROM FRONT OF HOTEL CONNEAUT. 



?Ä^^»®«ä>i|#sSMas* 





GLIMPSES OF THE LAKE. 




STEAMERS OF CONNEAUT LAKE 
NAVIGATION COMPANY. 



JAN 7 ^^f 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



018 378 204 6 • 



